Peter Gunasekera's response to my reply to Shyamon Jayasinghe's "Norway
Fury" is further evidence that there are others who subscribe
to the appallingly narrow and simplistic views of national and international
politics. My criticism was mainly directed at Shyamon's contentious
advice to Sinhala expatriates to "Put up! or Shut up!" on
the ground that Norwegians are in Sri Lanka because we invited them.

The greatest humbug I discerned was his infuriating suggestion to
Sinhala expatriates "to go and sponsor poor children", presumably
as a productive diversion of their collective fury.

Like many other fellow Sri Lankans I too was annoyed by his vexatious
assertions about the efforts of the sinhala expatriates to expose
the true colour of Norwegian facilitators. It is indeed not a case
of "Put up! or Shut up!".

There is no doubt that Sri Lanka's invitation to an international
facilitator towards making peace may have been necessitated and executed
in good faith. That does not preclude the countryman to agitate against
the facilitator violating the mandate or abusing the role of an "honest-broker".

A subsequent government has buttressed the advent of the international
facilitator by building an edifice of a cease-fire agreement and a
monitoring mechanism. Removal of that edifice requires careful planning
of a viable alternative while nurturing and grooming favourable world
opinion. In this respect mounting a fury against the violation of
the "facilitator's mandate" is essential and commendable.

Shyamon in his over simplistic analysis adds that Norway is not a
colonial power. In a world where neo-colonialist ventures are abound
and every foreign policy initiative is taken on the sole criterion
of national interest, there is no place for such blinkered viewpoints.

I have been accused of directing a personal attack. If Peter Gunasekera
reads the other responses published so far, he will surely notice
that I am not the only person who has detected Shyamon's fondness
to quote anecdotal evidence from his public service postings to reinforce
his arguments. If his views are flawed the readers should not be blamed
for questioning things related to his public service postings.

I must make it clear that I have no personal agenda. I never had
the good fortune to benefit from Shyamon's wisdom of administering
municipalities or government ministries, as a ratepayer or as a citizen.
Like many other Lankaweb readers I have come to know him through his
occasional writings. My criticism of his views is solely based on
what he himself has taken the trouble to espouse.

I am still not convinced that winning the hearts of ratepayers like
Peter Gunasekera by innovatively administering a suburban municipality
of a couple of square kilometres or administering government ministries
endows a person to see things in a proper perspective.

P.S: As for Maname, I am among the few thousands who were fortunate
enough to watch the original play during student days. I was awe-struck
by the epoch-making drama, particularly by the consummate stage acting
of late Edmund Wijesinghe as the "Vedi-Raja".